Wrench



(.No Model.)

- W. VESSEY.

WRENCH.

Patented Feb. 2, 189 7.

wrench.

UN TE STATES PATENT Orricn.

ILLIAM VESSEY, OF SANDUSKY, OHIO.

WRENCH.

, SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 576,487, dated February 2, 1897.

Application filed November 6, 1896. Serial No. 611,287. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM VESSEY, of Sandusky, in the county of Erie and State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved WVrench, of which the following is a f ull,clear, and exact description.

The object of myinvention is to provide a wrench which is simple, durable, and eco 11 omic and capable of being expeditiously and conveniently adjusted to any-sized nut and its jaws firmly locked in engagement with thenut when the proper adjustment has been made.

The invention consists in the novel oonstruction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved Fig. 2 is a front view thereof, and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

In carrying out the invention the shank A of the wrench is provided upon its front edge with a series of teeth 10, and the outer end of the shank is made integral with or is attached to a jaw 11. Asecond jaw 12 is mounted to slide on the shank, the said movable jaw being provided with a suitable opening 13, through which the shank is passed. A sleeve 14 is mounted to slide on the shank A of the wrench below the movable jaw 12, and the said sleeve 14 is open at its front end. An arm 15 is projected inward from the sliding jaw 12 at the front portion of the shank A, and the said arm 15 is attached by means of a pin 16 to the open portion of the sleeve 14, the pin 16 being passed through a longituclinal slot 17, made in the said arm.

Below the arm 15 the upper end of a lever 18 is pivoted in the open portion of the sleeve 14, and upon the inner edge of the lever 18 a series of teeth 19 is formed, adapted for locking engagement with the teeth on the shank A.- A spring 20 is secured to the front face of the arm 15, connected with the sliding jaw 12, and this spring is preferably made to extend downward to an engagement with the front edge of the lever 18, and a wedge 21 is hinged to the said spring, which wedge is adapted to enter the space between the opposing surfaces of the arm belonging to the sliding jaw and the outer end of the lever 18, the forward portion of the outer end of this lever being preferably beveled, as shown in Figs. 1 and In the operation of the wrench, by drawing the spring outward and carrying the wedge from between the arm 15 of the sliding jaw and the lever, the lever may be raised. to a substantially horizontal position, therebydisengaging its teeth from the teeth on the shank A, and at this time the sliding jaw may be quickly moved in direction of either end of the shank of the wrench. The wedge when not in use may lie parallel with. the spring. When the jaws have been brought to an engagement with a nut, as shown in Fig. 1, the lever is carried in direction of the shank until its teeth engage with the teeth on the shank, whereupon the wedge will drop at a right angle to the spring 20 and will'be forced by the spring between the arm of the sliding jaw and the outer end of the lever, effectually preventing the lever from being carried away from the shank.

This wrench is exceedingly simple, it is durable and economic, as heretofore stated, and by reason of the slot 17 being made in the arm of the sliding jaw this jaw has limited movement upon the sleeve 14, and when the wedge is in engagement with the arm of the jaw the pin will be at the lower portion of the slot 17. Therefore no strain will be brought to bear on the pin 16, since the strain in turning a nut will be communicated from the sliding jaw to the wedge, from the wedge to the lever, and from the lever to its teeth and the teeth in the shank, so that the pivotpin of the lever, as well as the connecting-pin 16 of the sliding jaw, will be free from all strain.

One of the chief uses of the wedge 21 is when brought into play to force the movable jaw tightly upon the nut or object between the jaws. Since the spring 20 extends over upon the lever 18, when the teeth of the lever are disengaged from the shank the wedge will be carried out from between the lever and the sliding jaw. When the wedge is not used, the arm 15 of the sliding jaw is made to abut firmly against the lever, thereby taking off strain from the pin 16 in the slot 17 of the sliding jaw.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to seen re by Letters Patent 1. A wrench consisting of a shank provided with teeth, a jaw fixed on the said shank, a sliding jaw, a carrier connected with the sliding jaw, a lever pivoted to the carrier and having teeth for engagement with the teeth of the shank, and a wedge arranged to enter the space between the sliding jaw and the lever engaging with the teeth, as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a wrench, the combination, with a shank provided with teeth and a jaw fixed at one end of the said shank, of a second jaw having sliding movement on the shank, a sleeve likewise mounted to slide on the said shank and connected with the sliding jaw, a lever pivoted in the said sleeve below its connection with the sliding jaw, the said lever having teeth for engagement with the toothed surface of the shank, and a wedge arranged to enter the space between the said lever and the sliding jaw, as and for the purpose set forth.

In a wrench, the combination with a shank provided with teeth and a jaw fixed at one end of the said shank, of a second jaw having sliding movement on the shank, a sleeve likewise mounted to slide on the said shank and connected with the sliding jaw, a

lever pivoted in the said sleeve below its connection with the sliding jaw, the said lever having teeth for engagement with the toothed surface of the shank, a spring attached to the sliding jaw, and a wedge attached to the said spring, being arranged to enter the space between the sliding jaw and the lever and effect a closing movement of the sliding jaw, as and for the purpose specified.

The combination, with a shank provided with teeth and a fixed jaw, and a second jaw mounted to slide on the shank, having an arm extending in direction of the handle of the shank and provided with a longitudinal slot, of a sleeve held to slide on the shank of the wrench, a pin passed through the said sleeve and the slot in the arm of the sliding jaw, a lever fulcrunied in the sleeve at the inner end of the arm of the sliding jaw, which lever is provided with teeth for engagement with the teeth on the shank, and a springcontrolled wedge operated by the lever and arranged to enter the space between the lever and the arm of the sliding jaw, engaging with both of said parts, as and for the purpose specified.

WILLIAM VESSEY.

lVitnesses:

IRA T. DAVIS, FRED. REELEY. 

